Yes, soon it will be that time again. It is hard to believe but 2008 is almost over so you need to start thinking about taxes. There is less than two months left but it is still worth doing some work. It is worth figuring if you have been paying enough so you do not owe when Uncle Sam comes knocking. The reverse is true as well, if you have been overpaying , then you should make the necessary adjustments. You get more money in your paycheck, which might be nice considering the holidays are upon us.

   If you are not contributing to your 401(k) there is no time like the present. For most people, especially those who do not have their own business, this is probably the most effective way to reduce your taxes. If you do contribute, use the calculator found here, http://www.dinkytown.net/java/Tax1040.html , to estimate your taxes. If you it shows you owe you may want to increase your contribution if possible. This is my opinion , and is a strategy I employ myself to protect against owing taxes. If your estimate shows you getting a refund then hopefully you are all set.

   Assuming there are no last minute law changes the break down for your 2008 taxes goes like this;

~Matt

So I talked some junk in my previous post, “What your tax rebate will really buy” . It seems that despite my pessimism, the government is going to throw us a bone earlier than expected. So instead of paying $4.00 / gallon for regular gas you might be paying $3.75, but something is better than nothing. Heres an article from AP on yahoo announcing the goodish news.

AP
Bush says rebates going out Monday will boost economy
Friday April 25, 11:46 pm ET
By Tom Raum, Associated Press Writer 
Bush says tax rebates going out Monday will help people afford rising gas, food prices

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush said tax rebates will start going out Monday, earlier than previously announced, and should help Americans cope with rising gasoline and food prices, as well as aid a slumping economy. Democrats said they were glad the rebate checks were about to go out, but suggested that multinational oil companies were not among the businesses the stimulus package was originally designed to help.
     “Starting Monday, the effects of the stimulus will begin to reach millions of households across our country,” Bush said Friday in remarks on the South Lawn of the White House. Those first rebates will be directly deposited into people’s bank accounts.
     The Internal Revenue Service had been saying direct deposits wouldn’t start until next Friday. Bush said paper checks would begin going out on May 9, a week earlier than previously announced.

Finance.Yahoo.Com - Click Here for Complete Story

On February 8th I wrote about the Bush Tax Rebate and what people could expect. Bush signed H.R. 5140, the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 into law on February 13th. Being an inquiring mind I have sifted through and dug out the answers to questions I wanted answered. I have summarized them below. If you want to see the full IRS article because the information you need has not been listed, click here.

1 - Will I have to claim the rebate as income on my 2008 taxes.
      NO! The tax stimulus rebate will not count as income when you file your taxes in 2008, it will not be  used to increase your taxable income.

2 - Will my refund be reduced if I owe any current or back taxes?
      YES! In this case it would be treated like any other refund and would be first applied to any outstanding liabilities owed to the IRS.

3 - When will I get my rebate and how?
      The IRS hopes to begin distributing the stimulus rebate by May. People who recieve their refunds or make payments directly from their bank accounts will get the refund quickest. If you use direct deposit and chose to use the multiple account option , it will be allocated as you specified or your refund.

Congress Sends $168 Billion Economic Stimulus to Bush (Update2)
By Alison Fitzgerald and Brian Faler

 Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Congress passed and sent to President George W. Bush a $168 billion economic stimulus package that he said is needed to help boost the slowing economy.

The legislation would send tax rebate checks to more than 111 million households, probably beginning in May. Lawmakers yesterday altered an earlier plan by making 20 million senior citizens and 250,000 disabled veterans eligible for the rebates. Bush said he will sign the measure.

“I want to thank the members for passing a good piece of legislation, which I will sign into law next week,” Bush said today in a speech to the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

In addition to the rebates and incentives for businesses to invest in new equipment, the measure increases the size of mortgage loans that government-chartered mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy.

Bloomberg.Com - Click for Complete Story

AP
Schumer: Expand Those Helped by Stimulus
Monday January 21, 2:04 am ET
By Will Lester, Associated Press Writer
Sen. Charles Schumer Says Limiting Stimulus to Those Who Pay Income Tax Is Unfair

WASHINGTON (AP) — Any rebate included in an economic stimulus plan should include people who pay Social Security taxes, not just those who pay income taxes, a leading Democratic lawmaker said Sunday.

“If we did the rebate based on the payroll tax, it would hit a lot more people at a lower end of the spectrum. And so to just say income taxes are the only taxes we’re considering that people pay is unfair,” said Charles Schumer, the New York lawmaker who is chairman of the congressional Joint Economic Committee. People making $35,000 to $50,000 pay a lot of federal taxes, he said, but much of that is not income tax, but directed to programs like Social Security.

Democrats and the Bush administration say they want to reach a quick agreement so the economic stimulus can be applied quickly to the struggling economy. But any Democratic insistence on covering those who don’t pay income tax could be a cause of conflict.

Finance.Yahoo.Com - Click for Complete Story